​Pakistan court shields Afghan artists and trans refugees from deportation

A Pakistani court ordered the government on Wednesday to halt the deportation of Afghan artists and transgender refugees for two months, offering temporary protection to members of two vulnerable groups who say they face persecution under Taliban rule.

The ruling comes in response to legal petitions filed after Pakistan announced plans in October 2023 to repatriate all undocumented Afghan refugees.

While nearly 784,000 Afghans have already returned under this policy, a group of 172 Afghans — 156 artists and 16 transgender individuals — challenged their expected deportations by petitioning the Peshawar High Court.

Asylum to be processed within 60 days

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Arshad Ali and Justice Wiqar Ahmed, issued the order after reserving their judgment following arguments concluded on December 13, 2024. The court directed authorities to process their asylum applications within 60 days.

The two-page court order states that "the Federal Government or its notified officer shall decide cases of all petitioners for grant or refusal of asylum within a period of two months." During this period, the petitioners cannot be forced to leave Pakistan, it added.

If Pakistani authorities fail to meet this deadline, both federal and provincial law enforcement agencies are prohibited from taking any action against the petitioners regarding their stay in Pakistan.

A sigh of relief

"We want to go back to Afghanistan because it is our homeland, but our lives are in danger in Afghanistan as we can't perform, and without music, we have no means to earn a living," said Hashmatullah Umed, an Afghan singer who fled to Pakistan.

Hoorya Anwari, an Afghan transgender individual, told Nuktathat she lacks family support and faces serious threats to her life under Taliban rule. "We are not seeking permanent residence in Pakistan, but only wish to stay until we can relocate abroad," she said.

Mumtaz Ahmad, the lawyer representing the petitioners, argued that Pakistan should offer asylum based on a 2003 tripartite agreement with Afghanistan and the UNHCR regarding voluntary repatriation of registered Afghans.

Refuge for artists?

Thousands of Afghan artists and performers have sought refuge in Pakistan since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, fleeing a regime that has systematically dismantled artistic freedoms across Afghanistan.

The regime has banned music performances, ordered the destruction of instruments, and declared music "un-Islamic" and a source of "moral corruption," forcing many artists to destroy their own instruments or flee.

Musicians and performers who remained have reported threats, harassment, and the loss of their livelihoods, leading to an exodus of cultural practitioners to neighboring countries, particularly Pakistan.